simple, nourishing recipes for those that have a full plate... and need one

Sunday, April 29, 2012

super easy kale pesto (and the many meals it became)

I am a huge fan of anything I can throw into the Cuisinart that results in a delicious meal in minutes. Lately, I have been making a lot of pestos. But not just any old pestos. These bad boys are filled with the nutritious goodness of my Superfood du jour: kale (and heck, walnuts aren't too far behind). Here's one of my latest and greatest kale pesto recipes:

Kale Pesto

(makes 6 servings + plenty leftover to use different ways throughout the week, or to freeze)

3/4 -1 lb kale (fresh, tough stem removed, or frozen)

1/2 cup raw walnuts

5-6 cloves of garlic

1 cup olive oil

zest of 1-2 lemon(s)

salt & pepper to taste

Pulse all ingredients in a Cuisinart until pureed. I served this over our favorite pasta on night one.

Then I blended part of the batch with a can of chickpeas to make a protein-rich hummus, which I served in cucumber cups at a mom's night out...

And last, but certainly not least: toasted pieces of hearty bread were smothered in the pesto, topped with a blend of mozzarella and Parmesan and popped under the broiler to become another quick meal. (I am pretty sure I served it for both a breakfast and a quick dinner that week...)

Pestos also freeze beautifully, so go ahead and make a big batch. What's your favorite combination of pesto ingredients? I'd love to hear!

11 comments:

Love this! How simple, nutritious and perfectly easy! We're going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you did it, and your lovely photography. If you wish, come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on greens like kale, chard, beet, mustard, turnip, collard, spinach, escarole, dandelion and other super healthy green leafies. https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens

Arugula and spinach (fresh or frozen) both work well for pesto. Spinach, sauteed w/ mushrooms and walnuts, then pureed w/ avacado also makes and awesome vegan spinach dip. I like to just season it w/ salt, pepper, and cumin

Hi Susan!No, I haven't tried it with chard, but there's absolutely no reason that wouldn't work beautifully too! I have done spinach, kale, arugula, etc.... any green works well!! Let us know how it is if you do it with chard!!Eila

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Welcome to The Full Plate blog, where you'll find simple, healthful recipes...so parents like you can nourish your families, even on the busiest of days. I am a recipe developer, culinary instructor and former personal chef. But first and foremost, I'm a mom. I love spending time in my kitchen… but I certainly don't want to spend all day in it! Here, I share my recipes for both make-ahead and simple-to-make recipes so you, too, can collect "bonus hours" to spend with your family, friends… or so you can just enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day. Poke around the blog, try a recipe that sounds good, or grab my ebook. Scroll down to search for a particular recipe, or to see some of the awards my blog has won. If would like to discuss working together, I may be reached at: mealsinasnap@gmail.com. I hope that you enjoy my recipes, and that you, too, start collecting those "bonus hours".

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About Founder/Editor Eila DeBard Johnson

I am a happy, healthy mom of two young children who has a knack for being able to whip up family-friendly, healthy meals with whatever I find in our fridge, freezer and pantry. In the past 12 years of motherhood, I have come to appreciate that there is so much intertwined in "being healthy" and feeling good as a mother, wife and friend. As a super busy mom who jugglednutrition coursework, raising young children, keeping the house in order, volunteering in my community, writing this blog and the elusive goal of “me” time, I understand the need for recipes to be simple.

While I’d love to claim that I cook everything from scratch, with only local ingredients, I don’t. One of my children is a vegetarian, the other is a self-proclaimed "meatatarian", so mealtimes are a constant juggling act around here. But, I do a swell job of getting healthful meals made quickly…that everyone around here enjoys. And if you open my freezer, chances are you'll find a bevy of homemade meals at the ready.

My love of cooking comes from an entire childhood spent in Southern California, where phenomenal produce was available (and offered up) year round... memories of homemade meals and family dinners throughout my upbringing... my incredible exchange student experience living on a farm in Austria in high school... and years of fine-tuning my cooking skills through numerous classes at The Institute for Culinary Education (then called Peter Kump's), private cooking lessons at night after my day job at an investment bank, and a Professional Certificate in Techniques of Healthy Cooking from The Culinary Institute of America. I have a BA from Colgate University, an MBA from Northwestern and am certified as a Health Coach by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, where I focused on holistic well-being.

Before writing this blog, I ran a (wildly popular) Fairfield County, CT-based personal chef service; consulted on private label food products; and worked in new product development and brand management for a really big food company.